


Whumptober 2019 - 10 - Unconscious

by OllieCollie



Series: Whumptober 2019 [10]
Category: Magnum P.I. (TV 2018)
Genre: CPR, Gen, Magnum's an idiot, Rick and T.C. to the rescue, Stranded at sea, Unconsciousness, Whump, but we love him anyway, near-drowning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-10
Updated: 2019-10-10
Packaged: 2020-12-07 21:49:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20982923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OllieCollie/pseuds/OllieCollie
Summary: The criminal smirked down at his bound captive, who was still unconscious from the firm knock he'd been given by the butt of a pistol. Blood dribbled down the side of P.I.'s face, stemming from a gash on his forehead. 'This'll teach him to stay out of other people's business.'





	Whumptober 2019 - 10 - Unconscious

**Author's Note:**

> I had too much fun writing this prompt. XD Honestly, how does Magnum always manage to get himself into such ridiculous situations? ;P
> 
> Leave a comment and let me know if you're enjoying Whumptober!

The private investigator knew too much.

It had been a few days coming, and when Jason had gotten the call from his boss, he was ready. 

_ "He's snooping around too much—he's onto us. So get rid of him. I don't care how, just do it." _

The criminal smirked down at his bound captive, who was still unconscious from the firm knock he'd been given by the butt of a pistol. Blood dribbled down the side of P.I.'s face, stemming from a gash on his forehead.  _ This'll teach him to stay out of other people's business. _

Jason brought the boat to a stop. This was far enough out. Nothing but sea surrounded them. 

He dragged the unconscious man to the small lifeboat bobbing on the side of his yacht, dumping him unceremoniously into it. Grunting, he reached over the side and wound the thick rope that trapped Magnum's hands around the metal ring where the oar was meant to go. There was no getting out of this one, not with the holes he'd just stabbed in the bottom of the lifeboat. Water began leaking in slowly.

Jason grinned as he untied the boat and gave it a shove, watching as it drifted out to sea. This would keep that stupid P.I. quiet—permanently.

* * *

"Hey, have you heard from Thomas today?" 

_ "No, not since last night. Why?”  _ Rick frowned as T.C.’s voice came over the phone. He sighed. “Because he asked me to do him a favor yesterday—surprise—and now he’s not picking up. I even went by Robin’s Nest this morning and there’s no sign of life—except the lads. Which, by the way, what was Jules thinking when she went out of town and left them in Thomas’s care?” He shook his head. He was rambling, and it was probably due to his worry. 

_ “Kumu hasn’t seen him?”  _ T.C. asked.

“Nope. He told her he was going to meet someone last night, but he didn’t specify who.” Rick took a deep breath. “Apparently he hasn’t been back.”

_ “Okay. What did he ask you to do?”  _

“Uh…” Rick glanced down at the piece of paper in his hand. “He wanted me to do some research on a Jason Kawai for a murder case.” A sudden thought popped into his mind. “Wait! Kumu said Thomas mentioned something about going down to the docks. This guy works there.”

_ “Well then, I think we have someone to go see.”  _

* * *

Something wet splashed onto Thomas’s face. Visions of angry Dobermans standing over him, drool dripping from their mouths as they waited for the perfect moment to attack filled his head.  _ Yikes _ . He forced his eyes open, prepared to see sharp canine teeth headed for his throat.

Instead, the orange-ish sky and setting sun greeted him, along with the sound of sloshing waves and gentle up and down motion that felt very similar to that of a boat.

Approximately five seconds passed before Thomas’s memories came flooding back to him, along with a sharp, stabbing pain in his head.

He remembered asking Rick to do a background check on a guy close to a murder case he’d been working on. But then Kawai had messaged him, telling him he had something urgent to share about the case and needed to meet immediately. Of course, when Magnum made it to the docks, he’d been greeted with something hard to the head and apparently knocked unconscious. He blamed the situation on Higgy for not being around to help him out with the case; she wouldn’t have let him rush down to meet Kawai without backup or more information on the guy. But no, she just had to be away on a trip for "business," whatever that meant. Magnum just assumed she was tired of his endless list of favors and wanted a weekend away. Of course, it would be the time he got himself into a real predicament. If she had been in town to help him in the first place, he wouldn’t have let exhaustion cloud his judgment about meeting alone with a guy he was fairly certain was involved in a murder. Yeah, he would stick with that excuse.

The numbness in hands reminded him of the more pressing matter at hand, and he sat up, trying to figure out the best way to work himself free. One thing was clear: Time was running short. Water was filling the boat, and it wouldn’t be long before it sank under the waves. 

Magnum grunted as he shifted, looking for some way, any way, to get rid of the ropes. The edge of lifeboat might be his best bet. He quickly began shoving his bound hands back and forth across the side of the boat in hopes of sawing through the thick rope. The muscles in his arms burned in protest, but he kept going. The ocean water continued to leak into the boat, threatening to take him down with it. 

_ Just...a little...more.... _

* * *

Rick growled under his breath, willing the yacht to move faster. Although at this point, hours had passed and there was no telling what had become of his best friend. He wasn’t willing to entertain the probable thought that it was too late.

He and T.C. had raced to track down Kawai, and it hadn't taken much "convincing" to get the guy to tell them what he'd done with Magnum.  _ “I—I left him out on the water!”  _ Kawai had choked out, gasping as T.C.’s hands tightened around his neck. He tried to explain it wasn’t his idea, but the boys were having none of it.

_ “Take us to him.  _ Now! _ ”  _

A spot of white amidst the sea of blue suddenly caught Rick’s attention. “Hey, hey, over there!” he shouted, pointing.

They came up to the half-sunken lifeboat and found it abandoned. Rick stared down at the water in the boat, tinged pink—blood.

He whirled on Kawai, whose eyes widened. “Where is he?”

“He was tied up, he couldn’t have gone anywhere!” he stated, somewhat frantically, gaze darting between Rick and T.C.—probably weighing his chances coming out of this alive.

“Well, clearly he did.” T.C.’s voice was low and dangerous. “Which means he’s in the water.”

Rick didn’t correct him with  _ “Which means he’s  _ been  _ in the water...for hours.” _ Instead, he gave Kawai a rough shove toward the front of the boat. “You’d better hope we find him. Because if he’s dead…” 

Kawai gulped. 

* * *

“Over there, on the beach!” They’d been circling the area for a good two hours when Rick finally spotted a figure lying limp on the beach.

T.C. moved closer to join him. “Is it him?”

“I can’t tell,” Rick muttered, squinting and desperately hoping it was Thomas. “Get us in as close as you can!” he yelled back at Kawai.

The guy huffed as the boat moved toward the land. “I can’t get too much closer or I’ll beach us—”

“Just get us as close as you can!” Rick snapped, really not in the mood to deal with the idiot who’d gotten Thomas in this situation to begin with. 

T.C. leaned further over the front of the boat. “It’s him.”

The boat wasn’t moving fast enough. Rick yanked his shirt off and dove off the edge of the boat. He had to get to Thomas, to reassure himself that his brother was okay, that he was alive.

His arms hit the water one after the other, legs kicking as fast as he could. Finally, his feet reached the bottom and he hit the sand running. “Thomas!” he called, stumbling the last few yards to his friend and landing at his side.

“Hey, hey, man.” He grabbed T.M.’s arm and rolled him onto his back, dropping his ear to the man’s mouth. “Thomas?”  _ Crap.  _ He wasn’t breathing.

Rick immediately started in on chest compressions. “C’mon, Tommy,” he muttered, pressing his intertwined hands down on the unconscious man’s chest as hard as he dared. “Breathe, bud.”

A sudden cough burst out of Thomas. Rick turned the choking man onto his side as water spewed from his mouth. Relief filled his chest as T.M. gasped for breath, still coughing and sputtering. “There you go.”

T.C. joined them on the beach seconds later.

“We’ve got to get him to boat,” Rick said quickly, letting his friend take over while he rested his arms for a second. “He’s freezing.”

Together, they loaded Thomas on the yacht and settled him on the seat across the back. T.C. retrieved several towels they’d brought along and draped them over their injured friend. “Let’s get back, quick!” Rick hollered at Kawai, watching as T.C. moved to watch over the bad guy to make sure he didn’t try anything stupid.

Thomas was coughing again, drifting in and out of consciousness. “Hey, Tommy, we’re getting you to the hospital,” Rick reassured, examining the gash on the side of his friend’s head. “You’re gonna be okay.”

Thomas moaned.

Rick tugged the towels tighter around the shivering man and glanced across the water, willing the yacht to move faster.  _ Come on, come on… _

* * *

“Seriously, Magnum, what on earth were you thinking?” Higgy stood next to his hospital bed, arms crossed as she observed him with one eyebrow raised. “Going meet a potential suspect without telling anyone where you were going?”

Thomas moaned and squeezed his eyes shut. He'd known it was coming. Ever since everybody found out he wasn’t going to die as a result of being hit over the head and thrown out to sea—and broken a rib thanks to Rick's CPR—there had been no end to the lectures and “Thomas, you’re an idiot”s. 

“I know you’re rolling your eyes internally,” Higgy’s voice interrupted, exasperated. “It isn’t my fault you don’t have good sense—if you have any sense at all.”

“Hey!” Magnum protested, eyes blinking open. This was Higgins’ fault, wasn’t it? He remembered reasoning it out to himself when he’d been trapped on the boat. To say it aloud now, though...that would require a lot of guts—and energy to engage in an argument. And energy was something Magnum didn’t have right now. 

He closed his eyes again and tuned out Higgy’s scolding. She was just worried about him, that was all. She always showed her concern in strange ways—or rather, canvassed it with annoyance. He knew she was actually glad he was okay. So were Rick and T.C. They wouldn’t know what to do if he wasn’t around to ask for favors and cause trouble.

So he smiled as he drifted off to sleep with Higgins still telling him all about how ridiculous he was.

They loved him.


End file.
